Read more about the article We’ve made it to our 1st appointment at the @ClevelandClinic today
Cleveland Clinic / Lizze / My thoughts

We’ve made it to our 1st appointment at the @ClevelandClinic today

We've had a crazy busy morning, also got run off the freeway by someone texting and driving but we've finally made to the Cleveland Clinic. It's been chaotic thus far but we made it safe, sound and on time. ☺ If you've never been to the Cleveland Clinic, it's a top 2 hospital in the entire country and we're lucky enough to be within about an hours drive away. The main campus is amazing and the doctors are literally the best in the world. Gavin and Lizze receive most of their medical care at the Cleveland Clinic and I can't say enough about the quality of care they received. Aside from being a fighter, I firmly believe Gavin is alive today because of his specialists here, especially his Neurologist. One…

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September 19, 2018
Read more about the article There’s so much riding on today
Cleveland Clinic / Fibromyalgia / Lizze / Migraines / My thoughts / Pain Management

There’s so much riding on today

Thankfully, Emmett's in a good mood this morning because we finally understand why he's been so frustrated with school and no longer wants to go. Hopefully, we'll get some answers this morning and can put his fears to rest. I'll explain more when I can. He's not being bullied or anything like that. This has to do with what appears to be a classroom policy. After that, the biggest thing we have going today is one of Lizze's appointments at the Cleveland Clinic. One of her appointments today is very important, while the other is a routine follow-up. Lizze is going into the pain management program at the Cleveland Clinic. We're heading to the amazing @ClevelandClinic today in order to find relief for my wife, who's living with chronic pain.…

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September 19, 2018
Read more about the article Today almost didn’t happen
Cleveland Clinic / Fibromyalgia / Lizze / Migraines / My thoughts

Today almost didn’t happen

We have an insanely busy day ahead of us. It will begin by meeting with Emmett's teachers because he came home today and requested that we pull him from the school. I can't go into what's going on until I meet with the teachers and gain more insight. Lizze and I will leave from the school and head to the Cleveland Clinic, where we will spend the rest of the day. Lizze has a string of appointments and they begin first thing and won't finish until dinner time. It's going to be an exceptionally long day and unfortunately, these appointments aren't all in the same location which means there's going to be a good deal of driving. Things are a bit tight in the financial department at moment and trips…

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September 19, 2018
Read more about the article I’m at my wit’s end
Gavin / My thoughts

I’m at my wit’s end

Gavin is checking all the boxes today in regards to being challenging. We've had one issue after another leaving Lizze and I frustrated. After the issues with his IVIG infusion this morning, Gavin was washing some dishes he needed for lunch. All of a sudden, he begins freaking out. This isn't uncommon for him and therefore we don't always react. He came out of the kitchen and began complaining and telling us that his ankle was cramping up. First of all, ankles don't cramp. That means either something else is going on or he's using the wrong words to describe it. Either way makes it difficult to figure out what's going on. As we're trying to talk to him about it, he's getting more and more worked up. Keep in…

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September 18, 2018
Read more about the article He lacks commonsense and that’s why this happened
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / IVIG Infusion / My thoughts

He lacks commonsense and that’s why this happened

Gavin had a very rough morning. He was struggling and that was even more apparent when it came to his IVIG infusion. I'm not sure where his head was at but we had problems. Maybe he was distracted, preoccupied with thinking about one of his games or perhaps he had a pending mission on his mind. I don't know and I don't think he does either. After dropping the boys off at school, I went walking in the rain. It wasn't too bad but getting wet is getting wet. Anyway, while I was gone, Gavin was preparing his IVIG infusion. He does this every single Monday and Friday morning. Today however, something was different. It's like he was backwards in what he was doing. He opened the supplies, kept the…

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September 17, 2018
Read more about the article Meltdowns and mayhem led to an incrediblely touching gesture
Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / Meltdowns / My thoughts

Meltdowns and mayhem led to an incrediblely touching gesture

This morning has been a total disaster. Mr. Emmett woke up in a mood that can only be described as unfortunate. He woke up at one point last night and wanted to crawl into our bed but we got him back into his instead. Maybe he had nightmares again and that's what had him in such a horrible, outwardly aggressive mood. Elliott and Gavin were both the targets of Emmett's verbal wrath at one point or another. Both seemed to understand that Emmett was having a rough time and didn't react in a retaliatory manner. Very proud of them for that. I intervened, correcting Emmett when he lashed out but as most Autism parents can relate to, it's a very fine line between correcting behavior and escalating an already volatile…

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September 17, 2018
Read more about the article Self-care isn’t always easy but it’s absolutely possible and here are some ideas
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts / Self-Care

Self-care isn’t always easy but it’s absolutely possible and here are some ideas

I'm super proud of myself because after today's walk, I have already hit 40 miles for the month. In other words, over the last 16 days, I have walked 40 miles on the track. That doesn't including walking in general. That's specifically from me driving to the park, starting my Galaxy Watch and stopping it when I'm done. For me personally, that's pretty fricking amazing and I've come a long way. I haven't made anymore progress on my weightloss since my last weigh-in but I'm still at 305 lbs +/- 1 lb. That's a 35 lb weightloss in roughly the last 6 months. ☺ I'm feeling pretty good about myself because self-care when you're an Autism parent can be exceptionally challenging. I'm really pushing myself to focus on this and…

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September 16, 2018